IRS to Mail Taxpayers in Disaster Areas CP14CL Notices

By Kelley R. Taylor, Kiplinger Consumer News Service (TNS)

The IRS, after confusing millions of California taxpayers with tax balance-due notices in May and June, will send follow-up letters to people in states that received extra time to file their federal income tax returns due to severe weather events.

The new IRS mailing will go to many California residents and taxpayers in designated disaster areas in other states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. As Kiplinger has reported, taxpayers in IRS-designated areas received extended IRS tax deadlines for the 2022 tax year due to tornados, flooding, and other natural disasters.

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said the IRS is working hard to improve and that the mailing is part of an effort to be more taxpayer-focused.

“We know our initial mailing confused taxpayers and tax professionals, and we worked quickly to send a follow-up reminder to help reassure people,” Werfel said in a statement, adding, “This mailing reflects how we’re trying to be more taxpayer-focused given the additional resources that we’ve been given under the Inflation Reduction Act.”

What is an IRS CP14CL Notice?

The new mailing, a CP14CL notice, will arrive in taxpayer mailboxes in the next couple of weeks. The IRS says the letters, which will include additional information designed to help taxpayers understand how the extended tax deadline works, will be written in English and Spanish.

“Since your address of record is located in a federally declared disaster area, the IRS has automatically granted you disaster relief,” the notice reads. “This gives you an extension of time to file your tax returns as well as make your tax payment listed on the CP14 notices. You do not need to contact us to get this extra time to pay.”

The original CP14 notices alerted taxpayers with a balance due that they had only 21 days left to pay their taxes. (The notices are legally required to be sent.)
But many taxpayers in eight states have until later this year to timely file their 2022 federal income tax returns because of IRS disaster declarations in several states. Due dates vary by state, but many Californians have until Oct. 16, 2023 to file.
CP14 letters will now contain an updated insert and a QR code to make clear that disaster declarations extend tax balance due dates and to help direct people to the IRS.gov disaster page online.

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